Author Archives: Becky Pliego

About Becky Pliego

I am grateful because God, in His grace, called me out of darkness and into his admirable light. When I did not look for Him, He found me. When I was in a pit of sin, He rescued me. I am not walking this road alone, my family is always with me, and we love Him, because He loved us first.

How to Make a Book Prettier, A Lovely Candle, and a Lunch Recipe

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Some of us are starting this week to pray through the Valley of Vision (13 weeks, 3x’s a day -Would you join us?-), and I think that most of us own the paperback edition which to be true, and I will say this quietly, it is not very pretty. So one day, I decided I would make mine prettier. Of course, I ran over to my Mom’s because she is definitely more talented than I am; and well, I convinced her to make a new cover for my books the easiest way possible (I we also made one for one of my favorite books, Practical Religion by R.C. Ryle, because of the same reasons: a not so pretty cover, go see what I am talking about here.)

What is my secret to have a pretty cover? No needles and thread, but glue!

The result is this:

Practical Religion by Ryle

 

Now you know, if you don’t want to spend your money on the leather edition, get the paperback and make it special. (Isn’t this another great idea for Christmas or birthday gifts?)

This week I have made two things that I found over at Pinterest, a lovely candle and a yummy recipe.

First the candle. I have seen it on Pinterest but was unsure how it worked, but after Katie Lloyd reviewed it I decided we needed to make it; and yes it works pretty well, and certainly looks very pretty. We used grapefruit instead of clementines, just because that is what I had at hand.

 

The “twig” is part of the fruit itself and the fuel is olive oil. (We made a second one and tried to use canola oil instead, but it never burned)

And lastly, a yummy lunch recipe. A recipe I needed to share because some of my friends are running out of ideas and serve their family breakfast for lunch, while others feed their family on chocolate and “throw them a few organic carrots once in a while to make themselves feel better”! 🙂  (Yes, you guessed, this is an “inside joke”!)

The recipe comes also from Pinterest:  Roasted Grapes with Thyme, Fresh Ricotta & Grilled Bread from Alexandra’s Kitchen. The picture is hers, I did not even try to take one of mine, hers is just perfect.

I really recommend you to try this one; it is delicious, easy and looks perfect on your plate!

Enjoy the rest of your week, and rejoice in Him who gives us our breath every second.

Becky

Wednesday's World of Work

The New England Primer -An Alphabet of Lessons for Youth-

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A Wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

BEtter is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure & trouble therewith.

COme unto Christ all ye that labor and are heavy laden and he will give you rest.

DO not the abominable thing which I hate saith the Lord.

EXcept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

FOolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

GODLINESS is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come.

HOLINESS becomes GOD’s house for ever.

IT is good for me to draw near unto GOD.
KEEP thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

LIARS shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

MANY are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth them out of them all.

NOW is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.

OUT of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

PRAY to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly.

QUIT you like men, be strong, stand fast in the faith.

REMEMBER thy Creator in the days of thy youth.

SEest thou a man wise in his own conceit, there is more hope of a fool than of him.

TRUST in God at all times, ye people, pour out your hearts before him.

UPON the wicked, God shall rain an horrible tempest.

WO to the wicked, it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
EXHORT one another daily while it is called to day, lest any of you be hardened thro’ the deceitfulness of sin.

YOUNG men ye have overcome the wicked one.

ZEal hath consumed me, because thy enemies have forgotten the word of God.

******************************

This is an excerpt from The New England Primer, 1777 ed.

Last week I shared, A Lesson for Children A-Z, also from The New England Primer.

UPDATE: Trisha left a comment saying that this would be great for copy work, and I totally agree; so why not use this site, Handwriting Worksheets, to make your own pretty customized worksheets. Go check it out! 🙂

Handwriting Worksheet Maker

Becky

Praying Through The Valley of Vision

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My own Valley of Vision paperback edition made prettier

Because I firmly believe that there is no other way to grow in prayer than by praying, I just started Joe Thorn’s  “organized approach to working through The Valley of Vision prayer book in 13 weeks using 3 daily “appointments” scheduled at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm Monday through Friday.”

Walking Through the Valley of Vision a project by Joe Thorn

I want to do this, because I am prone to wander. Sometimes I just need reminders to help me break my routine and come before the Lord in prayer; and as with any other prayer companion this one should never substitute our time in communion with the Lord through praying, reading and meditating on His Word.

Tim Challies said it well,

“I need to learn to pray and because I know there is much I can learn from this book. Though it is not an instruction manual, there is a sense in which is serves in just that way. Most of us (perhaps all of us) learn to pray by imitating others. And the people who prayed these prayers and recorded them for us are worthy of imitation. These are not prayers to be read as if just reading the words has any power or worth; they are prayers to be prayed as if they were your own words. As you speak them, offering them to God, they become just that”.

Joe Thorn says about this organized approach:

“Please keep in mind that this should not be the totality of your prayer life, but one part of it, fueling your meditation on Scripture, dependency on the gospel, exercise of faith in and love for Jesus.”

And because, I also firmly believe that we should encourage one another to persevere in good deeds, (and certainly prayer is one!), I want to invite you to join me. Yes, I know, Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that comes along with those Holidays will be there (this project lasts 13 weeks), but that is why I am convinced that I need extra help to keep myself focused in what really matters, at the feet of Jesus and not be caught up in the business of the seasons to come.

Would you join me? I already have my sister joining me; so that makes two of us, but it would be great if more friends would walk through the Valley of Vision along. If you are interested go to Joe Thorn’s page, read the basic instructions, print your schedule, paste it (or just tuck it) inside your book and start right there. Remember that this only goes from Monday through Friday, so you have two more days to catch up. (If you have a Twitter account and would like to tweet about this use the hashtag #walkingthruthevalleyofvision)

May we learn to live at the foot of the cross, where we learn by paradoxes.

Becky

Bless the Lord, O My Soul- Giving Thanks Based on Psalm 103-

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©Katie Lloyd Photography

 

Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits….
(#1416- 1441)
You, O Lord, have forgiven all my iniquity
and  healed all my diseases, all my spiritual infirmities,
 it has pleased you to redeem my life from the pit
and crown me with your steadfast love and mercy.
How great are your works O Lord!
O my soul, do not forget all his benefits!
Thank you that you O Lord, satisfies my soul,
That your grace is sufficient,
your grace is my all.
You renew my strength, my soul,
just like the eagle’s.
Forget not, O my soul!
You, O Father, have worked righteousness and
justice when I was oppressed by my sins.
You have made your ways known to me
through the Scriptures;
Your Word has enlightened my path.
Give thanks , O my soul,
to God for He alone is merciful and gracious
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Give thanks O my soul,
and do not forget all His benefits!
Give thanks for He will not chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
Do not stop praising and giving thanks to Him,
O my soul,
see that the Lord has not dealt with you
according to your sins,
nor repay you according to your iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does He removed your transgressions, O my soul, from you.
Give thanks to God, O my soul,
for He has called you to be his child,
and just as a Father shows compassion to his children
so the Lord has shown compassion to you
because you have feared his name.
Give thanks, O my soul,
to God, who knows your frame
and remembers that you are dust,
and gives you hope,
He reminds you of how short this life is,
and teaches you to fix your eyes on eternity,
on His steadfast love,
a love that never ceases,
that is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him.
Give thanks for His righteousness
is even for my children’s children,
for those who keep His covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
The Lord reigns!
Give thanks, O my soul,
to one who is sitting on the throne,
Give thanks to the LORD who has established
his throne in the heavens,
and whose kingdom rules over all.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

 

Becky

Praying the Psalms -Psalm 13- How Long, O LORD?-

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Psalm 13

1  How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2  How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3  Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4  lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5  But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6  I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

This weekend I have listened several times a sermon on Monergism by Dale Ralph Davis based on this Psalm. The sermon is entitled Faith: From Crying to Confidence. Friends, I cannot stress how much this sermon has blessed me; I encourage you to listen to it.

And based on this Psalm (and the sermon) I pray today…

O God, how much longer, how much longer?  Many friends of mine whom I love dearly, women who love you, who love your Word and are walking on your ways have recently lost their babies before they opened their eyes, even in their mother’s womb. LORD, we don’t understand, we just cry and at times try to hold our words back. At times we feel as if you had abandoned us. Father, O God, how long? What do you want to teach us, the body of Christ, when we see this and feel so helpless and alone?

O LORD, how much longer?   Don’t hide your face from us, don’t hide your face from my sisters’ faces who cry in the darkness. LORD, O LORD! Hear our cry! You alone can bring comfort to us. Please, Lord; please God, hear us and let your face shine upon us.

There are times when grief cannot find comfort in words, when we don’t know what to utter, what to say. There are times when the only question that springs forth from our troubled heart is, the same that David asked, “How long, O LORD?”

“How long? Ah!  how long do days appear when our soul is cast down within us!…Time flies with full-fledged wing in our summer days, but in our winters he flutters painfully.”(1)

How long? God, how long will we have sorrow in our heart all the day as we mourn the death of these babies who were to be born in Christian homes, in the Covenant? We need you to come Father, and look at us in our distress. We are in desperate need of you. We have cried many tears in the night, on our pillow, and swallowed hard… we have waited and waited, and waited and still do not understand your ways. We go to your Word and at times You seem far from us. How much longer until my friends, my sisters will find comfort in their sorrow?

How long will our enemies will see us having miscarriages while they go and put their babies to death? How long LORD? Remember that we are poor and needy, Oh LORD, take thought for us. You are our help and our deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Do not delay, O God!

Teach us to pray when our heart feels devastated; consider and answer us O LORD our God, light up our eyes, lest we sleep the sleep of death, lest our enemy say, “I have prevailed over them,” lest our foes rejoice because we are shaken. Don’t delay, O God, my LORD!

Father, where can we go for answers? To whom shall we cry? We have nowhere else to go but to You. Remind us that “the mercy-seat is the life of hope and the death of despair.” (2) O God, I come boldly before you today, because I have trusted in your steadfast love. My sisters and I will keep coming to you, day and night we will keep on knocking and knocking at the doors of Heaven. LORD only in You, in your steadfast love, in whom You are is where we will find rest and our heart will rejoice only in your salvation.

This day we thank you because You are our Father, a Father who has promised not to forsake us but to have compassion on us. You have promised not to leave us in the pit of desperation. We have trusted in Your covenant, in your perfect love, O God, and run to hide under your wings. You have given us hope and your Word to sustain us. Thank you, O LORD!

In the night dark of the soul, I thank you because even though we don’t always see clearly, we are not blind. You have made your light shine on us and You have given us your Word and the Holy Spirit to comfort us and help us in our weaknesses. Thank you, LORD because we are not placing our faith on vain things but on who You are; and You are God, a merciful and faithful God who remembers His own, who is Sovereign and Omniscient. You are our Father and your promises are Yes and Amen. Father just as a shipwrecked mariner clings to the mast (3), so we do now, we cling to our faith, we cling to You in whom our soul has believed.

God, my Lord, put a song in our mouth, clear our throats from this crying so that we may be able to sing your praises. O Father, our Father thank you because you have dealt bountifully with us.

Our Hope is in You and we look forward for the coming of our Lord Jesus, for the day in which all our tears will be wiped away.

AMEN!

Becky

(1), (2), (3) The Treasury of David by C.H. Spurgeon

Praying the Psalms 

Let Your Amen be Heartfelt

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This week I  studyed the little word Amen; and I came across four great articles that you might want to print and study before the Lord’s Day. I promise you, after considering this you will never say this word lightly again.

Here is a taste of each one of these articles:

“The saying of the corporate amen is a great covenant privilege, and has the force of a binding oath. We never want to take it lightly, or invoke it to no purpose, or, worst of all, to mumble it.” Douglas Wilson

Read Douglas Wilson’s article here.

“I think he would say that God is calling us out of our cocoons of emotional isolation and invisible, inaudible, unshared responsiveness. I think he would say, it’s God’s will that we echo the excellence of God in preaching and prayer – that we express our affirmation of the truth of God in the Word, and that we resonate verbally with Godward longings and yearnings in prayer.” John Piper

Read Piper’s article here.

“It doesn’t mean primarily, “YES, I have said all this prayer.” It means primarily, “YES, God has made all these promises.” AMEN means, YES, Lord, you can do it. It means, YES, Lord, you are powerful. YES, Lord, you are wise. YES, Lord, you are merciful. AMEN is like an exclamation point of faith in a prayer for help. Or an exclamation point of strong affirmation after a statement of God’s greatness.

As you come to the end of every prayer there are two AMEN’s, two YES’s. When you say, “In Jesus’ name,” that is God’s AMEN. All his promises are YES and AMEN in Jesus: Jesus Christ is God’s YES and AMEN at the end of your prayer. Then when you say, “AMEN,” this is your YES and AMEN back to God for his. AMEN is our YES to God for his YES to us in Jesus Christ.” John Piper

Read this article here.

“Worship in biblical terms is a corporate matter. The corporate body is made up of individuals, and when an individual sounds the “amen,” the individual is connecting to the corporate expression of worship and praise. However, we are told in the Scriptures that the truths of God are “yea” and “amen” (2 Cor. 1:20), which simply means that the Word of God is valid, it is certain, and it is binding. Therefore, the expression “amen” is not simply an acknowledgment of personal agreement with what has been stated; it is an expression of willingness to submit to the implications of that word, to indeed be bound by it, as if the Word of God would put ropes around us not to strangle or retard us but to hold us firmly in place.” R.C. Sproul

Read Sproul’s article here.

By His Grace, under His sun,

Becky